NY business recalls Polish meat

13-Jun-2016 - Last updated on 14-Jun-2016 at 14:56 GMT

A third of Sokolow's revenue is made via meat exports to counties like Russia and the US

New York business Asian Jade Customs Brokerage has recalled 762 pounds (lb) of dried pork sausages under Poland's well-known Sokolow brand imported from the country without being properly inspected.

The kabanos sausages – a thin smoky meat snack popular in Europe – were not inspected by food safety officials at its point on entry into the US. As a result, the meat items have been recalled over fears they could pose a health risk to consumers.

Asian Jade Customs Brokerage, a New York business, issued the recall for the 762lb of Polish meat, according to the US Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS).

Once the items made it past customs security, the meat snacks were transported to distributors and retail outlets in the states of New York and New Jersey.

‘Routine failure’

The kabanos sausages arrived in the US on Friday 3 June. All items have an image of the French flag on the packaging and each is labelled ‘Sokolow Pork Kabanos’ and ’Kabanosy Francuskle’.

"The export of products produced by "Sokolow" S.A. to the US is carried out in accordance with all reguired procedures," said a company spokesperson. "Each shipment with relevant documents is shipped to the place agreed with the importer, who is responsible for notification of goods to FSIS inspection. We will investigate this case to find out more details. Products exported to the US are of the highest quality and are always produced under strict veterinary inspection confirmed by certificates issued by veterinary authorities."

The lack of an import inspection was discovered by FSIS staff after what USDA described as “routine failure to present shipment monitoring activities and subsequent investigation”.

No reports of consumers falling ill as a result of eating the kabanos sausages have been reported. Consumers who have purchased the products have been urged by FSIS to throw away the items or return them to where they were purchased.

Sokolow is a well-known multi-meat brand in Poland and produces close to 300,000 tonnes of beef and pork and products every year. Exports, mainly to Japan, Russia, South Korea and the US, account for a third of the company’s annual turnover.

Sokolow was not available to comment on the recall.

For more information on the product recall, visit the USDA website.